HIKARI no TSUBASA ~ WINGS of LIGHT
CHAPTER SEVEN
[Seireitei (Quiet Spirit Court), Soul Society.]
T.K., Patamon, and Gatomon appeared on a deserted street in the court.
"Wow," Patamon looked around. "This place is amazing."
"It's reminiscent of Ancient Japan," T.K. commented, placing the bag down, which wiggled.
"T.K., what's in there?" Gatomon asked.
"Some food, why?"
"It just moved."
Bending down on one knee, T.K. opened the bag and Pachirisu jumped out, a half-eaten cracker in his paw.
"Pachirisu?" T.K. exclaimed.
"Chi-pa!" the Pokémon said, looking happy with himself.
"Didn't you go back into your Poké Ball?" T.K. asked him and Pachirisu nodded.
"Then you left and snuck into the bag?" Patamon questioned next and Pachirisu nodded.
"And now you're here with us?" Gatomon continued and Pachirisu nodded.
"Chi-pa!"
"This isn't good," T.K. sighed.
"Are you worried about Hikari?" Gatomon wondered.
"Chi-pa…" Pachirisu nodded sadly.
"I understand," Gatomon said, trying to cheer him up. "I'm worried about Kari. If you promise to listen to us and behave, you can join us, okay?"
"Chi-pa!" Pachirisu smiled, cheered up.
"Then it's settled," Patamon nodded.
"Now to find Kari," T.K. said, closing the bag as Gatomon's ears twitched.
"Someone's coming," she warned.
"Let's go," T.K. turned away, but before he could take a step, a young pink-haired girl with a sword tied to her waist jumped down from a rooftop.
"Kenny!" she called. "I found them!"
From behind them approached a tall man with black, spiked hair and an eye patch over his right eye.
"Good job, Yachiru," he said, then turned to T.K. "You, ryoka, how did you get here?"
"Me?" T.K. asked. "We just appeared here. We're trying to find my girlfriend who was kidnapped. Where are we and what's a ryoka?"
"A ryoka is a person who had entered the Soul Society illegally," the man, Zaraki responded. "You say you just appeared, but that's impossible; this place is protected by a barrier that's impossible to pass through. Do you want to fight?"
"Fight you?" T.K. took a step back. "I'd rather not."
"Too bad," Yachiru smiled. "Kenny loves to fight. You'll have to come with us."
Coming closer, Yachiru bent down in front of Patamon and Gatomon and poked them in the cheek.
"Hey!" Patamon yelled, knocking her hand away and causing her mouth to fall open.
"Yes, yes," the Digimon sighed. "We can talk."
"I have to find Kari," T.K. insisted.
"Let me tell you, kid," Zaraki said. "You either come quietly or fight me. Those are your options."
"I guess I have no choice," T.K. looked down dejectedly. "Lead on."
"Then let's go, you three."
Three? T.K. wondered and took a quick look around. But only Patamon and Gatomon blink up at him. Where did Pachirisu go?
They followed Zaraki through the city to a tall white building. Inside, they are met by two similarly dressed men, one with orange hair and one with black hair, a girl with black hair clothed in the same black ensemble, and a girl with orange-brown hair wearing ordinary clothes.
"Hey, it's Icchy and Big-Booby!" Yachiru exclaimed.
"Hi, Yachiru-chan," the orange-haired girl, Orihime Inoue greeted her. "How are you?"
"Great!"
"You found them," the black-haired man, Byakuya Kuchiki said to Zaraki. "Good work."
"No problem," Zaraki grinned, then turned to the orange-haired boy. "Ichigo, want to practice fight?"
"With you?" Ichigo took a step back. "No way."
"Thank you, Zaraki," Byakuya interrupted. "You can go."
"Bye, Bucket-Hat, Chibi-Flyer, and Kitty," Yachiru waved as she jumped up onto Zaraki's shoulder and the two left.
Bucket-Hat? T.K. thought.
Chibi-Flyer?
Kitty?
Follow us, ryoka," Byakuya commanded.
"Can't we explain ourselves?" T.K. asked, not moving a step. "We're not a threat. Some guy kidnapped my girlfriend a few days ago and we've been chasing him through worlds to rescue her."
There has been no movement in the Sereitei regarding unknown ryoka," the black-haired girl, Rukia Kichiki informed him.
"What about outside?" Patamon asked her.
"On the other side of that large wall we saw," Gatomon added.
"Oh, aren't you two cute," Orihima exclaimed, moving forward and patting their heads.
"Why don't we hear them out, Byakuya?" Ichigo Kurosaki suggested. "What if they do need our help?"
"The rules-" Byakuya began to say, before a large explosion interrupted him.
"What was that?" Rukia wondered as the building stopped shaking.
"Rukia, come with me," Byakuya ordered. "Ichigo, take the prisoner to the holding cell."
He and Rukia ran outside, leaving T.K. and the Digimon with Ichigo and Orihime. In the distance they could see a billowing smoke cloud, slowly growing. Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his hair, uncertain of what to do, when a beeping noise caught his attention.
"It's your digivice," Patamon said to T.K., tugging on his pant leg.
T.K. reached into his pocket and pulled it out. "It's Kari," he announced. "She's nearby. Maybe even on the other side of that wall."
"The explosion was near a gate," Orihime commented. "Do you think that's where it was?"
"Seems a pretty good time for an explosion," Ichigo smiled. "Let's go, you guys. You three better not be misleading us."
"Honestly, we're not," T.K. reassured him.
"I'm coming too," Orihime added.
They quickly left the building before anyone else could come along. Keeping close to walls, they headed towards a gathering crowd near a large gate. The giant guard is busy explaining what happened and amid the dust and confusion, T.K. and the others slip behind him and run into the Rukongai District.
What they failed to notice was someone extract themselves from the crowd and silently follow them.
Without warning, something landed on top of T.K.'s head.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, reaching up to remove whatever was on him. "Oh, Pachirisu, it's you. Where did you go?"
"Another cute one," Orihime grinned.
"Wait a minute," Patamon said. "Pachirisu, did you cause the explosion back there?"
Pachirisu smiled, making wide, innocent eyes at them.
"Perfect timing, I'd say," Gatomon commented. "T.K. are we getting closer?"
"Yes. The signal is getting stronger."
Five minutes later, they stopped in front of an old, run-down shack.
"Is this it?" Ichigo asked T.K.
"Uh-huh," the boy nodded. "The signal is coming from inside there."
"What are you doing, Ichigo?" a voice inquired from behind them.
Turning around, they look down at a black cat with green eyes, blinking up at them.
"Ms. Yoruichi," Orihime smiled.
"Don't try to stop us," Ichigo said. "We're helping him find his girlfriend."
"So I've heard," Yoruichi nodded. "But even with the explosion determent, they'll notice soon you're missing. Plus, have you noticed you're drawing the attention of everyone around?"
Ichigo took a look around at the people who had stopped and were staring at their small group. Some even peered out from their windows at them.
"It'll be pretty easy to follow you," Yoruichi smirked, causing Ichigo to look embarrassed.
"Should we knock or go in?" Orihime asked, turning back to the door.
"Let's just go in," Gatomon responded, walking up to it and pushing it open.
It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting, and when it did they saw an old man sitting on the floor, another bowl of soup on his lap.
"Hey, what's this?" he demanded. "Haven't you people ever heard of knocking?"
"Where's Kari?" T.K. asked him, ignoring the other questions.
"Who?"
"Kari," T.K. repeated, impatiently. "I know she's here."
"Don't know what you're talking about," the old man huffed, before a beeping filled the room.
"See?" T.K. showed him the screen of his digivice. "It's says Kari's right here."
"Hey, that's-" the old man began to say before clapping a hand over his mouth.
"You've seen it before?" Gatomon pounced on the suspicious behavior.
"Um, no," the old man tried to answer. "I…"
"What do you think you're doing, Ichigo?" Byakuya asked from the open doorway. "I told you to take them to the holding cell."
Behind Byakuya stood a shorter, white-haired young man with a sword strapped to his back.
"Come on," Ichigo pleaded. "He's just trying to find his girlfriend. Anyway, how did you find us?"
"It wasn't hard, since everyone was looking this way," the white-haired man, Toushirou Hitsugaya answered.
"Oh…" was all Ichigo could think to say.
"Told you," Yoruichi smired again.
"Please, we know Kari's here," Patamon insisted. "This old guy recognized T.K.'s digivice. Kari has one too, except it's pink. They react to each other when they're close by."
"Is that true?" Byakuya asked the old man. "Do you have it?"
"What? Of course not."
"You're sweating an awful lot for someone telling the truth," Hitsugaya observed, stepping closer.
"Of course I'm sweating," the old man insisted. "Two captains and a bunch of strangers have burst into my home. I have never seen this person before."
"You're lying," Gatomon sniffed, trying to hold back her tears. "Kari…"
Reacting to Gatomon's feelings, the man's pocket began to glow. Ichigo grabbed him by the front of his shirt, lifting him up as Hitsugaya pulled out a pink digivice. As soon as it's out in the open, the light emanating from it died down.
"Kari's digivice!" T.K., Patamon, and Gatomon all exclaimed.
"That's evidence enough," Yoruichi stated. "It looks just like his."
"Where is she?" Byakuya demanded.
"I found that on the ground," the old man tried to say as Ichigo dropped him back down. "Thought maybe I could sell it."
"Take him with us," Byakuya ordered.
"No!" the old man cried out.
"Someone else has been here," Yoruichi announced, sniffing around.
"Who?" Orihime asked.
"There's a faint smell of two other people. Possibly one male and one female…"
"Oomph," Orihime interrupted her, falling to the floor, having tripped over a loose floorboard.
Ichigo moved aside the board and steps leading downwards appeared in the swirling energy.
"What do we have here?" Hitsugaya wondered.
"I know nothing, I swear!" the old man shouted.
"Where does it lead?" Byakuya demanded, glaring at him.
"I don't know!"
"Do you want me to ask again?" Byakuya glared more menacingly.
"Master!" the old man cried out, scared. "It leads to Master! Please don't kill me. I'm just the gatekeeper!"
"So Kari was here," T.K. stated.
"I don't know her name. He arrived with the Child of Light who he was supposed to get."
"Kari's the Child of Light," Gatomon informed them all.
"So where are they?" Ichigo asked.
"He'll kill me if I say!"
"And we'll kill you if you don't," Hiysugaya replied.
The old man was silent for a moment. "Las Noches!" he finally admitted. "It goes directly to Master Aizen's room, bypassing all the Hollows."
"Aizen?" Byakuya frowned.
"Heh," the old man grinned. "But Shinigami can't pass through. There's a ward protecting it."
Byakuya moved towards the stairs, but an invisible wall prevented him from stepping down.
"Told you so," the old man grinned more, causing Yoruichi to go over and scratch his leg. "Ow!"
Orihime stepped up next to Byakuya and walked down a couple of the steps before returning back up.
"I can go in," she said.
"You're not a Shinigami," Yoruichi pointed out. "Ichigo, can you enter?"
Ichigo proved he could when walked down a few steps, then returned.
"Yep," he nodded. "Maybe it's because I'm only a deputy."
"So only you can go," Hitsugaya sighed, unhappy of being unable to fight.
"It would make sense since it's in the Rukongai," Byakuya observed. "If we found it, we still couldn't get through."
"All right, I'm going," Ichigo announced.
"Me too," Orihime nodded.
"And us as well," T.K. stepped forward with Patamon and Gatomon.
"Can you fight?" Hitsugaya asked them.
"Not me," T.K. shook his head and pointed at the Digimon. "But they can. And Pachirisu."
"You're not leaving me behind," Yoruichi stated and in a glow of light, she turned into a tall woman with long purple hair, tied back in a ponytail and wearing an orange and black outfit.
"Hmph," Gatomon grumbled. "I can do that too."
"It seems we have no choice but to let you go," Byakuya was forced to admit. "However, Ichigo, your assignment is to go in, get the girl, and get out. Do not seek out Aizen and avoid a fight as much as you can."
"Understood," Ichigo nodded. "All right, ready?"
Six heads nodded and he started down into the swirling energy. Orihime followed after him, carrying Gatomon, then came T.K. with Patamon on his head and Pachirisu in his arms, and lastly, Yoruichi. Very soon, they disappeared into the mass.
"While we wait for them," Byakuya began, turning to the old man. "You're going to tell us everything."
The old man gulped nervously and began to sweat even more.
Chapter Seven end
